Vienna apprenticeships outnumbered by job seekers ten to one

About 5,000 people in Vienna are seeking apprenticeships, while only around 500 positions are available, ORF reported on Sunday. The AMS employment service is calling for companies to provide more apprenticeship places.

Andreas Kuen of the AMS told the programme Wien heute that the number of available positions has been falling. Vienna has more than 200 apprenticeship professions, but the path into an apprenticeship has become increasingly difficult.

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce told ORF Vienna that requirements have risen sharply across all apprenticeship professions, making it more difficult for companies to find suitable apprentices.

At the Maiselgasse polytechnic and vocational middle school in Vienna’s third district, around 300 pupils are completing their final year of compulsory schooling. Most plan to start an apprenticeship afterwards, and career guidance is a standard part of their lessons.

The school’s principal has introduced youth coaches who visit several times a week. “We place around 60 percent of our pupils in the open labour market, meaning they immediately find an apprenticeship. Then we have around 20 percent who continue at a school,” Irene Ditrich said.

For the remaining 20 percent, who are unsure what to do after compulsory school, the AMS service centre for people under 25, known as U25, is the main point of contact in Vienna for taking the next step professionally.

Many of the currently available apprenticeships are in retail, catering, and installation and heating technology, according to the AMS.